


Apple-y Ever After

by hopelessly_me



Series: Spoopy season 2020 [1]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Clint and his horrible puns, Fluffy, Happily Ever After, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov, fall festival, vacation to the Barton farmhouse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26865340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: With a full week off from work, Clint and Tony headed out to Iowa, to Clint’s old farmhouse with Natasha and Steve for some R&R. Towards the end of their vacation, Clint asked if they wanted to go to the fall festival in the next town over. How was Tony going to say no to that? He was glad he didn’t.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Tony Stark
Series: Spoopy season 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959886
Comments: 13
Kudos: 50





	Apple-y Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> I would apologize for the puns but I'm definitely not going to. =D

Tony woke up, sunlight streaming in through the gap between the curtains, warming his face up- which was about the only warm part about himself. He turned his head but the pillow next to his was bare, absent from who he currently wanted to cuddle against so he could feel warmer. He knew that he should get up, pull on warmer clothes than just his boxers and start the day, but he also knew what waited for him was a cold bedroom floor. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that shock yet.

Clint had taken the whole week off from work- no S.H.I.E.L.D. missions, Avenger calls, no real responsibilities except what was obvious- self care and taking care of Lucky. To say Tony was proud was an understatement. Clint typically needed to be forced to take his vacation time, and he had a hard time saying no when asked if he could make an exception. Normally that meant Tony had to force Clint into vacation time, which also meant making Natasha take vacation time, which also meant sometimes Tony had to drag Natasha with them. This time though- this time Clint decided he wanted to take vacation, and offered up his house to anyone who wanted to join. While Tony would have preferred for this vacation to be just them, he actually didn’t mind the company so far because Natasha and Steve had mostly gone out and done their own thing, leaving Clint and Tony to do their own thing.

It took a few minutes to convince himself to get out of bed, swearing and stumbling, trying not to keep his feet on the ground too long. He was going to have to somehow persuade Clint into allowing a full house redesign so he can add heated floors to the place. Tony pulled on his sweatpants and one of Clint’s hoodies before he made his way to the bathroom then downstairs. Natasha was sitting at the island in the kitchen, drinking what Tony knew to be tea. Her eyes slid over to Tony and she offered up a restful, small smile before she looked back to Clint.

The rumor that Clint couldn’t cook was just that- a rumor. Tony? Steve? They couldn’t cook, at least not well; normally something would be burning, or it would be undercooked, or the cooking gods just laughed at them. Natasha  _ could _ , in theory, cook, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. Natasha’s version of cooking was mostly for survival, not enjoyment, which meant the food was mostly plain and simple. Clint though- his cooking was for the gods when he actually would cook. It was flavorful, cooked to perfection without any signs of burning. It was a treat the entire team enjoyed when Clint worked himself into having enough energy to make a meal. Today for breakfast it looked like they were in for that kind of a treat. The large box of eggs was out and on the countertop, vegetables already sliced and diced, and Tony could drool from the smell of the different meats cooking.

Tony knew better than to walk up on Clint with his hearing aids out and cooking. It only took one time, two years ago, for Tony to learn that when Clint was hyper focused on a task without his hearing aids in that Tony needed to let him finish. No one needed to be accidentally stabbed. So Tony fixed himself a mug of coffee and opened the fridge door so he could grab his creamer, and sat at the island near Natasha. At some point, Clint must have caught sight of him because he turned around and gave Tony the biggest, brightest smile and signed a quick  _ good morning. I love you _ before he went back to work.

“Morning,” Steve greeted as he walked inside, clearly having gone for his morning run.

“Morning,” Tony greeted. 

Steve leaned over and kissed Natasha’s cheek as she tilted her head to make it easier for him. Tony wanted to make fun of them for it, but it was one of those soft, small moments that didn’t seem to happen often enough outside of private- he bit his tongue. Steve said something about taking a shower and he left.

After a half hour of sitting there, the food was finally ready. Clint grabbed plates down and handed them out, moving himself out of the way of Natasha and Tony so he could grab his hearing aids. He smiled , fiddling with his ears as he walked over to Tony. “Morning, babe,” he greeted, leaning down for a quick kiss. “How did you sleep?”

“Just fine. You know what I was thinking?” Tony said as casually as he could, his fingers lightly pressing into Clint’s waist. Clint hummed a little. “We should put heated floors in.”

“You’re funny,” Clint said, poking Tony’s nose. “No. Come on, I don’t want a bigger to-do list,” he whined, shuffling himself a little closer.

“You hate me,” Tony declared playfully.

“I do. I really, really do,” Clint answered, wrapping his arms around Tony’s shoulders and hugging him, pressing a kiss against his forehead. “I hate you so much I made you breakfast even.”

“How dare you,” Tony said, grinning.

“I’m the worst,” Clint replied.

They broke apart and gathered up their own food, joining Natasha and Steve at the table. Clint grabbed two mugs of coffee, balancing his plate on his head until he settled. Steve had that smile on his face that Tony had become used to through the years- it was somewhere between being proud and amused, like he was watching two children doing something hilarious together after they had just got done fighting. Only this was only one child, and that child was around thirty-three and knew his way around too many weapons to name.

“So, I was thinking,” Clint said, breaking up the quiet moment. Tony looked up from his meal. “There is a fall festival that starts today in the next town over. It’s about an hour drive away from here. I don’t know what you two have planned but I was thinking about checking it out.”

“Is it the same one from five years ago?” Natasha asked over her mug. Clint nodded. “Steve, we are going to the festival.”

“And why is that?” Steve asked, not upset but curious.

“There’s pie.”

Tony blinked and looked at Clint. Clint gave him a quirky smile and shrug before he looked back down at his food. “Who doesn’t like pie?”

“What else is there?” Tony asked.

“A little bit of everything,” Clint admitted. “Crafts, people selling honey, pies, desserts in general. There’s a pumpkin patch. We could buy some pumpkins. They should keep for the Avengers Autumn Charity Event.”

“Are you… are you planning to decorate this year?” Tony asked skeptically.

“You sick?” Steve asked.

Natasha snorted, dangling her fork in his hand. “Pepper texted him.” Clint grinned and tapped his nose.

“So that means we head back home Friday night then,” Steve said.

“I still think it will be fun,” Clint offered. “They have a petting zoo.” He said it, looking right at Tony, looking like he was going to break down laughing any minute now.  _ That little shit _ Tony thought, giving Clint his best bored expression. Natasha’s shoulders were shaking as she tried not to laugh, Steve’s face hiding behind his glass of orange juice.

“I loathe every last one of you,” Tony sighed. “When do we leave?”

They left not too long after that. Steve helped Clint with the dishes while Natasha went to get ready. Soon enough they were in the old, beat up truck, listening to god knows what because Clint wouldn’t stop fiddling with the radio as he drove, switching between hiphop, to pop, to country. Natasha was the one who leaned forward and slapped Clint’s hand down; taking the hint and what Tony would call a warning, Clint switched over to the CD player (that’s right, that’s how old Clint’s vehicle was) and nodded his head through a few Gremlins 47 songs.

As promised, an hour in they were rolling up to a farm, cars scattered about. Clint parked the truck and leaned back, giving Tony a big smile. “Ready for this, city boy?” he teased, reaching over to hold Tony’s thigh.

“It’s a farm, Clint. I think I can handle it,” Tony replied, rolling his eyes. He opened his door and climbed out, which only made Clint smile more. “... smells like a farm.”

“You would make a great detective,” Steve said, patting Tony’s shoulder before he walked, meeting Natasha towards the front of the car and wrapped an arm around her.

Tony sighed and Clint walked to his side, leaning against the car. “One time, Barton. The  _ one _ time I agreed to help you on a farm and this is what I get. I am converting the Barton farmhouse to a house in the middle of woods.”

“Now there is an idea I wouldn’t be opposed to,” Clint answered with a chuckle. He reached out, his hand resting on the side of Tony’s neck. “Hay there, gourdgeous.”

Tony opened his mouth then closed it as Clint started to smile more, pulling his lips into his mouth. “... you did not just say a pun,” Tony said.

“Oh, I totally did two. Hay, Tony,” he said before pointing to a few hay bales. “Hay.”

Tony groaned and stepped back before he rubbed his face. “This is why you wanted to come. You wanted to spend the whole afternoon saying terrible puns.”

“I’m…  _ amaized _ you caught on that fast,” Clint said with a wink. Tony took a deep breath and walked by Clint. “Honeybee? Pumpkin?”

“Why am I dating you?” Tony asked, smiling when Clint caught up and took his hand. “A lifetime of hearing puns. Of being dragged out to places just so you can say puns. This is… this is...”

“Amaizing?” Clint asked, reaching out to rustle the corn stalks they were passing.

“You already did that one!” Tony protested.

“What can I say? I’m a corny guy.”

Tony had to hand it to Clint. When he was cracking the world’s most obnoxious jokes, he had picked something fun to do for their afternoon. They ran into Steve and Natasha a few times, but otherwise they were on their own. Occasionally they would get stopped, Tony being recognizable; it wasn’t anything that was new, but today it bothered him more than normal. He just wanted to have a normal day out with Clint, do a Fall Festival without having to talk to strangers. Clint seemed at peace with it, holding Tony’s hand, rubbing Tony’s knuckles with his thumb. It was enough to keep Tony from becoming too snarky.

They had started out with the booths, filled with decorations, clothing, jewelry, whatever. They bought pieces for everyone’s birthdays or for Christmas, looking at everything it seemed. Clint picked out a necklace and bracelet set for Natasha for her upcoming birthday, a few pieces for Pepper for Christmas. There was an arrow necklace that he snatched up for Kate. Tony picked out wall decor, or little things he knew Bruce and Jane would like, little things he knew Thor would get a kick out of.

They stored their spoils and made a trip back in, setting up round two. They found the pies, the chocolates, and bread galore. Free samples were Clint’s favorite things in the world and he was taking full advantage of that. Which also meant they bought way too much food items. They had donuts, and fresh honey, pies and chocolates. Caramel apples. Tony had to pull them both out before they bought everything in sight, knowing full well Natasha would kill them if they didn’t have space for the ride back home.

“How are we going to get the pumpkins for Pepper?” Tony asked, on their way back into the farm after their second trip to the car.

“I asked one of the owners if I can buy a massive amount and store them until tomorrow,” Clint answered. “Had to show off my fancy Avengers card to prove I’m Hawkeye.” Tony hated how few people didn’t recognize Clint if he wasn't with the group, holding a bow. Clint considered it a blessing. “I asked if I could come before opening hours and loud them in the jet.”

“You are going to bring the jet here?” Tony asked skeptically.

“I’m an excellent flier, thank you. I bet I can land it dead center in that parking lot,” Clint bragged. “You really autumn know me better by now.” Tony groaned. “That’s right. I remembered how many fall puns I can come up with. I’m having a damn gourd time with it too.”

“That’s just wrong,” Tony declared as they went out to the pumpkin patch. “So what? We pick up a ton of pumpkin in wheelbarrows and tomorrow you grab them?”

“That’s the plan,” Clint said, grabbing a wheelbarrow. “You going to help or am I doing all the work?”

Tony raised an eyebrow, getting his own smirk on his face. “Watching you use your biceps is always one of my favorite things.”

Clint leaned over and kissed Tony’s cheek. “It was a rhetorical question. Grab a wheelbarrow.”

Tony grabbed one and followed Clint out, spotting Steve and Natasha nearby, each with their own wheelbarrows, grabbing pumpkins. They set up camp and quickly got to work, picking out pumpkins of all sizes. Clint promised up front they could pick out squashes and such, all in different colors.

It wasn’t anything Tony would have ever considered doing on his own- the only way he liked his hands dirty was with grease, not dirt, but out in the field, laughing and joking around the others was worth it. There were moments that Natasha smiled brighter than he had ever seen, her laugh a little more light than it normally was, like she was actually on downtime and not having to keep herself in check. Steve looked like he was at peace himself, and Tony could picture him moving out to the country, starting a small scale farm to keep himself busy. Sometimes wondered if Steve would ever step back from all the responsibility while he was young enough to enjoy it; he hoped Natasha would find a way for them both to.

“Hey Tones,” Clint asked. “Do you believe in apple-y ever after?” he asked.

“There aren’t even any apples around,” Tony groaned, standing up straight and turning to look at Clint, his eyes widening. “Is… that an apple?”

“Maybe,” Clint answered.

Tony dusted his hands off on his jeans and walked over, his heart pounding with each beat. Clint had that shy, nervous smile on his face, his shoulders pulled up slightly as he held the apple in both hands. That’s when he saw it, the gold band around the stem, glistening in the sky, reflecting some of the red of the apple up into the band. It was something simple, something almost too perfect.

“Clint-”

“Can I tell one more pun?” Clint asked. Tony huffed out a sigh, just to be dramatic but nodded. “I think I’ve fallen for you, but you’re the pick of the patch.”

“That was two,” Tony pointed out.

“So I can’t count,” Clint laughed. “What do you say to givin’ them pumpkin to talk about? They won’t be-leaf it.”

“Three,” Tony said. “No, four. There are four puns total now.”

“Which is the exact amount of words in the question I have to ask,” Clint replied. Tony felt his face heat up. “Will you marry me?” he asked. 

Tony laughed. “Okay, that was smooth. Wow.” Clint laughed, pulling the ring off carefully and ditching the apple.

“What do you say?” Clint asked hesitantly.

“I think it’s cute you think the answer would be no,” Tony answered, closing the gap between them, pulling Clint into a kiss and stealing his ring away.


End file.
